Vatican City: New €2 commemorative coins mark 125th anniversary, birth of Paul VI

The treasury of the Vatican City State or the Holy See will release (6th October) new commemorative €2 coins which mark the 125th anniversary of the birth of His Holiness, the Pontiff Paul VI (1897–1978), who was head of the Catholic Church from 1963 to his death in 1978. The future pontiff and Saint was born as Giovanni Battista Montini in the village of Concesio, in the province of Brescia, Lombardy, on the 26th September 1897 to Giorgio Montini. His father was a prominent lawyer, journalist, and director of the Catholic Action who was also a one-time member of the Italian Parliament. His mother, Giudetta Alghisi, was born into a family of rural nobility. In 1916, and at the age of nineteen, he entered the seminary and became an ordained priest on the 29th May 1920 in Brescia. He celebrated his first Holy Mass in Brescia in the Basilica of Santa Maria delle Grazie and also concluded his studies in Milan with a doctorate in Canon Law that same year. At the age of twenty-five, Montini entered the Secretariat of State and consequently never had an appointment as a parish priest. 

The coins are produced by the Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato (IPZS) at their facilities in Rome, Italy, on behalf of the treasury of the Vatican City State and are designed by artist Daniela Longo. The obverse side depicts the late pontiff with his arms outstretched, a gesture he often used when greeting the crowds. He wears the papal cassock tied at the waist with a fascia bearing the coat of arms of his pontificate embroidered on the bottom of the sash. The design is inspired by the tapestry which went on display at the Vatican during the Canonisation ceremony. The text CITTA DEL VATICANO is placed along the upper-left edge with the commemorative years 1897 and 2022 seen to the left of Paul VI. Additional text PAPA PAOLO VI is placed to the right. The reverse side is that of the standard euro-zone design for the two-euro coins, the numeral 2 is superimposed over a map depicting Europe, created by artist Luc Luycx. 

Denom.	Metal	Weight	Diameter	Quality	Maximum Mintage
Two euro	Bi-metallic	8 g	25.7 mm	FDC	68,000
Two euro	Bi-metallic	8 g	25.7 mm	Proof	9,250

Available from the 6th October, the FDC version of the commemorative €2 coins are encapsulated and presented in a moiré-effect covered cardholder accompanied by information about the coin. The Proof versions are encapsulated and presented in a custom case accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. For further information, please click here for the Proof coin or here for the FDC coin.

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